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HT2458 - Every Capture Is a Teacher |
The core of artmaking is the twin fusion of learning and producing. It's easy to see that if there is no producing there is no artwork. It's not so obvious that if there is no learning there is no artwork. Learning comes from many sources, One of the most important is our past decisions. Here is a simple exercise that can amplify the importance of learning with every capture. |
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HT2459 - AI and the Ideal |
When we say that one photograph is better than another, how do we arrive at that conclusion? When we are processing our images, what is the criteria we use to take the next step in processing? As I've thought about this, one answer keeps reoccurring: all of the decisions we make have the intention of revealing an ideal. What do we mean by "the ideal"? Why is our goal not the truth? When did photography change from a sensitive pursuit of truth into a technological and aesthetic pursuit of a fictional ideal? Now that AI makes the ideal so accessible, will that change our aesthetic objectives? |
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HT2460 - With the Passage of Time |
I'm certainly not the only photographer who looks back at their earlier work and feels a sense of embarrassment. What was I thinking? Of all the negatives or digital captures I had to choose from, why did I think this one was worth printing, matting, and (God forbid) framing? Isn't it equally odd that a few images from those early years seem to have held up pretty well? Can I trust my own aesthetic judgments? Will the images I'm producing today seem ridiculous 5 or 10 years from now? Each finished artwork is a product of its time. |
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HT2461 - Variations on a Theme |
I'm a fan of Sergei Rachmaninoff's piano compositions. I was not aware, however, until last night, of a composition he wrote titled Variations on a Theme of Corelli. The backstory of this work is simple. Corelli wrote a short piece of music in which there is a central tune. That tune captured Rachmaninoff's imagination. Rachmaninoff then took this short musical theme and composed 20 variations that are different in every regard, but still identifiable because of the basic tune. As I listened last night, I couldn't help but think how we could use this idea in our creative photographic expressions. |
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HT2462 - My New Phone Has Adaptive Display |
My old phone finally gave up the ghost when its battery wouldn't hold a charge anymore. So off to the phone store and a new phone, and that sizable project of getting the new phone and its settings adapted to my needs. Unfortunately, with this new phone, I was unaware of an "improvement" that Android calls Adaptive Display. Now that I've turned off adaptive display, my images look so much better. |
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HT2463 - The Responsibilities of Owning Artwork |
I had a water leak that dripped into a couple of portfolio cases where I housed artwork from other photographers. I lost 13 pieces of wonderful work that were completely destroyed. Forever. I feel a double sadness in this in that not only did I lose some work that was important to me, but also lost that work to any future it might have had after I'm gone. Owning artwork implies a responsibility to protect it, preserve it, care for it. This is one of the reasons I never give away my prints unsolicited. I don't want to impose that burden on anyone without their consent. |
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